1. Technical Field
This invention relates to headwear and, more particularly, to a headwear cooling system for circulating air along a user head.
2. Prior Art
Just about everyone owns some form of headwear. Persons spending a considerable amount of time in the out-of-doors, such as workmen, athletes, sports fans, fishermen, and the like, frequently wear headwear to protect themselves from the heat or cold of the surrounding atmosphere. There is an ever increasing demand today for providing the comfort of cooling of the wearer of the head gear during hot weather conditions. As such, many air conditioned hats, helmets, or the like have been provided for achieving these end results.
One prior art example shows a fan that is mounted in part of a hat or other headwear wherein two spaced apart disc-like members, each provided with openings through which air may be directed, have a fan impeller rotatably mounted therebetween. The construction of such a device is complicated as it includes ears or tabs for detachably securing the fan to the selected head gear. Another prior art example discloses a battery-driven fan for attachment to the brim or peak of a hat or cap, and has an adjustable visor for directing the air-flow onto the forehead or face of the user. That arrangement necessitates that the visor is mounted before the user's eyes and prevents a clear view forward. It is generally distracting and objectionable particularly if the user is participating in a sport, e.g. a ball game, at the time. Furthermore, the fan unit is retained on the brim of a hat by means of a resilient retaining ring which does not afford reliable permanent or semi-permanent mounting of the fan unit within the brim of the hat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,557,807 to Hujar discloses an article of headwear for covering the head, such as a hat, cap, or helmet, which includes coolant means for cooling the head of the wearer, and more particularly, cooling means which provide a prolonged cooling effect. The coolant means is contained in one or more pouches comprised of two layers of different materials, the first or outer material being a thin material having good thermal transmissive properties and preferably also having some water resistant properties, and the second or inner material provided interior of the first material and having thermal insulative properties. These layers, used in combination, have an effect of absorbing heat from the head of the wearer without at the same time absorbing excessive heat from the environment, and thus provide a sustained cooling effect. A heat releasing means can be substituted in place of the coolant means when it is desired to warm the head of the wearer. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a user with a continuous cooling breeze to the head and face.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,585 to Karlan discloses a elongated, semi-flat tubular body constructed of flexible fluid impervious material, and the tubular body is divided into separate longitudinally spaced compartments along longitudinally spaced flexible transverse zones of the body. The compartments are filled with a fluid eutectic solution and the body may be folded along the transverse zones for relative angular displacement of the adjacent compartments. The elongated, semi-flat tubular body may be removably supported within the channel defined by the sweat band of a hat or cap and may be used to absorb heat from the adjacent head areas of the wearer of the hat or to provide heat to those adjacent head areas. Unfortunately, this prior art example does not provide a user with a continuous cooling breeze to the head and face.
Accordingly, the present invention is disclosed in order to overcome the above noted shortcomings. The headwear cooling system is convenient and easy to use, lightweight yet durable in design, and designed for circulating air along a user head. The system is simple to use, inexpensive, and designed for many years of repeated use.